WCW Fights For Videos of FDA Nicotine Tests on Baby Monkeys

UPDATE (1/26/18): The FDA announced it is permanently ending its nicotine addiction experiment and sending dozens of monkeys involved in the study to a sanctuary. Read more.

White Coat Waste Project is fighting an epidemic of government secrecy about taxpayer-funded animal experiments, and now we’re challenging transparency failures at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Our team recently came across a short description of an FDA laboratory that addicts baby monkeys to nicotine. Beyond that, it’s not listed on any federal research database it should be with more information on what it costs, its methods, or outcomes.

Because the only publicly available information about the “Aspects of Nicotine Self-Administration in a Nonhuman Primate” study is a mere paragraph on the FDA’s website, WCWP filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request back in December asking for related documents. In its response, however, the FDA supplied WCWP with a 64-page document containing redactions of the project’s cost and completely withheld other related documents — including veterinary records for the primates used, photographs and videos of the experiments, and adverse animal welfare event reports — without explanation.

FDA failed to provide most of the documents we requested. But, from the limited materials it did send WCW, we now know that FDA is addicting two dozen squirrel monkeys as young as 1 year old to nicotine to determine what dose gets them addicted. For the experiments:

Monkeys undergo surgeries to implant devices to deliver nicotine directly into their arteries

They are forced to constantly wear nylon vests to contain the equipment implanted in them

They are locked in restraint chairs and trained to press levers to receive nicotine infusions

The monkeys are videotaped after they receive nicotine infusions to monitor for effects including vomiting, diarrhea, tremors.

Each of the monkeys is each locked alone in a cage for 138 weeks.

Here’s a sanitized schematic of the cruel experimental set-up from the FDA documents:

All of FDA’s redactions and document withholdings constitute violations of federal FOIA laws, and our legal team is now challenging this by appealing the FDA’s open records failure.

Immediately release these victims to appropriate sanctuary and STOP THESE STUPID MONEY-Squandering exercises. I am confident yourvresearchbdepartmebt can secure significant funds for constructive research – how about cold laser as an inflammation cure????!!!

This is worse than BARBARIC! It is the ultimate of TORTURE! It breaks my heart in a million pieces knowing the immense PAIN and SUFFERING these HELPLESS, TERRIFIED animals are FORCED to endure! This needs to STOP and it needs to stop NOW! ALL these precious animals should be sent to a sanctuary where they will be LOVED and cared for! They deserve that and so much more! SHAME on the nasty humans who think nothing of forcing such TORTURE upon these precious animals!!! SHAME SHAME SHAME!!!

I am appalled that the use of infant monkeys are determining the outcomes of your studies of nicotine. This is cruel and inhumane and I do not give permission for my tax dollars to support this. Stop cruel experiments!

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